The famously unscrupulous government agency responsible for protecting public health and safety will waste millions of tax dollars to further examine a common household chemical that’s already been deemed unsafe in hundreds of scientific studies and banned in several states.

To appease the chemical’s manufacturer the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is delaying issuing a negative report by essentially disregarding the results of nearly 1,000 reputable scientific studies that have collectively concluded it presents a public health risk. Used to make hard, clear plastic Bisphenol A, or BPA, has recently been banned in cities and states across the nation based on the research.

Study after study has determined that BPA causes cell changes that lead to breast and prostate cancer yet the FDA has conveniently utilized a pair of studies—paid for by BPA manufacturers—to rule that the chemical is safe. Bombarded with the more dependable research contradicting BPA’s safety, the agency is further stalling on banning it by investing $7 million to conduct its own probe.

A group of insulted scientific experts who have thoroughly examined BPA have written a letter to FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg accusing the agency of stalling at the risk of public health. Spending significant time and money on a very well researched chemical is disturbing, the scientists write, pointing out that there are significant flaws in the government’s plans.

The FDA has been embroiled in similar scandals over the years by failing to enforce federal laws because doing so would negatively affect the profits of the wealthy companies that pay the agency hundreds of millions of dollars in “fees.” The deplorable negligence was even the subject of a congressional investigation that determined the FDA allows companies that annually pay it more than $400 million in fees to compromise public safety.

A recent example involves a controversial FDA-approved cervical cancer vaccine (Gardasil) linked to the deaths of dozens of girls and adverse reactions in thousands more. Pharmaceutical giant Merck manufactures Gardasil and the FDA has gone out of its way to cater to the powerful drug company by expediting expanded approval of the vaccine, which has been promoted as a sort of miracle shot that can prevent certain strains of cervical cancer caused by Human Papillomavirus (HPV).

Judicial Watch has extensively investigated the contentious vaccine, obtained government files on adverse effects through public records requests and published a special in-depth report on the matter. Click here to view Judicial Watch’s work related to Gardasil.